Public Shaming Does The Job: Bank Of America Gives Army Vet His $25K Back

It’s not that we love the act of shaming a big, greedy bank into doing the right thing — wait. Scratch that. We totally love it, which is why we’re happy that Bank of America finally refunded over $25,000 in fraudulent debit charges to a U.S. Army reservist. All it took was years of fighting, a little public flogging and collective indignation.

Two years had to go by before John will finally see the money that was taken from his account, after he paid for a few drinks at a club in Greece and someone else then charged thousands of dollars on his card. Bank of America had told him they’d done all that they could, and that he was on his own to battle the merchant for his funds.

ABC News says John’s now waiting to receive his refund after a senior executive of veteran affairs from Bank of America called him on Wednesday evening to tell him the good news.

“I’m hoping now the politicians in this country will use this to change these laws to protect consumers,” said John. “Whether a debit or credit card, if someone forges your name, it’s the responsibility of Visa or the bank to hold that payment until it’s verified.”

Bank of American maintains that it followed the rules of fraud protection, and that it was Visa who determined the case was between John and the merchant. But maybe their close call in our Worst Company In America tourney softened their hearts a bit.

“That being said, in light of Mr. McDevitt’s service to our country we are extending him the benefit of the doubt and refunding the full amount,” said a BofA spokesman.